A town council has been accused of “hating motorists” ahead of the extension of a 20mph speed limit.

Some say the plans will make Sevenoaks “safer and cleaner” and that there is a “broad consensus” in favour - but it has also been slated as “undemocratic”.

Sevenoaks Town Council (STC) has long wanted to extend a 20mph limit across swathes of the town and more road will be covered by the zone from October 1.

In an information pack, Sevenoaks mayor Cllr Libby Ancrum (Lib Dem), says: “We are delighted to be implementing a 20mph scheme for our town.

“Across the country, communities like ours are putting pedestrians and active travel to the fore with schemes just like this.

“There is a great deal of evidence that, in urban settings, lower vehicle speeds significantly reduce accidents, improve air quality and make the community a better place to be.”

Proposals for a 20mph zone have been in the works for years, with a 2021 petition for one receiving 1,800 signatures.

A 2022 video of a near-miss in Sevenoaks captured by a cyclist also spurred support for a lowered speed limit.

Kent County Council (KCC) ran a consultation on that version of the scheme in 2022 but after receiving feedback it was significantly revised with several roads removed.

The removed roads were: Mount Harry Road, Hitchen Hatch Lane, St Botolphs Road and part of the A225 between The Vine and War Memorial, and the Bat & Ball junction with the A25.

Plans to make these roads 20mph were scrapped as it was decided it wasn’t possible to make without introducing measures such as speedbumps, but the scheme is meant to be “sign-only”.

As the revised version was so different to the original, it was decided a whole new consultation would be needed - which STC ran from November 1 to December 14 last year.

“We are very pleased that residents of the town supported the project and we are looking forward to delivering a safer, greener Sevenoaks,” Cllr Ancrum added.

The most recent consultation on the town-wide 20mph zone showed 74% of residents in favour of 20mph zones around schools and in residential roads.

It also showed 61% in favour of a 20mph limit across much of central Sevenoaks.

However, the consultation received only 2,542 responses, of which 1,587 live in Sevenoaks town.

Sevenoaks town has a population of about 22,000, and the wider district covering Swanley, Edenbridge, Otford and Westerham had a population of about 120,500 at the last census in 2021.

Howard Cox of Cranbrook, who is Reform UK’s transport spokesman, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the Liberal Democrats “hate the motorist”.

All 16 seats on STC are held by Lib Dems.

“Sevenoaks council’s undemocratic 20mph imposition is nothing to do with safety or saving the planet,” the founder of FairFuel UK continued.

“It’s simply a way to fleece drivers of their hard-earned cash.

“I can accept 20mph limits outside schools but local authorities are clueless at managing road user strategy.

“We’re not anti-car. It’s to allow safer, cleaner access to the town, to encourage active travel…”

“This money allocated for signage is best used on repairing potholes.”

The scheme has cost £153,456 for 20mph signs and another £25,000 for the installation of a zebra crossing in Dartford Road.

All of this is funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which developers contribute to councils when they get planning permission.

Cllr Richard Streatfeild (Lib Dem), who sits on KCC and Sevenoaks District Council, said Howard Cox was “talking rubbish”.

He argued: “It went through a cross-party process in which the Lib Dems are a minority in the Joint Transportation Board and it got voted through there.”

The former Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Sevenoaks argues that all nine members of the district council representing Sevenoaks Town were elected in part because they backed the 20mph project.

He told the LDRS: “To somebody who’s driven along a certain stretch of road at 30mph for a lifetime, 50 years or more, it’s going to feel strange to drive at 20 because you’re simply not used to it.

“But that’s the whole point, it’s to rebalance. We’re not anti-car. It’s to allow safer, cleaner access to the town, to encourage active travel.

“There is a broad consensus in the town that this is what we want.”

He also claimed the limit will be “self-enforcing” without new cameras or speed bumps, as so many are in favour of it that they will comply, leaving would-be speeders unable to accelerate.

“It’s been carefully planned so it’s the least disruptive as possible during the summer holidays,” he said.

A KCC spokesperson said: "The national approach to 20mph speed limits is that they should be self-enforcing and only installed in areas where it is expected to be observed based on measured speed data and site assessments.

“The Sevenoaks 20mph scheme area has been assessed based on existing vehicle speeds.

“The proposed 20mph limit will include entrance signage, repeater signage, entrance treatment gateways and speed limit road markings to encourage users to observe the new set limit where appropriate."

The signs will be installed around the town from August 12 and the rules will be enforced from October 1.